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Trip to Central France Aug 2013

My family (2 adults, 2 kids ages 12 and 10) are visiting France from Aug 9-20 (10 full days). We are interested in seeing the history, pre-history and natural beauty of the country. We have selected 3 areas to explore: Paris, Loire Valley and Dordogne. We want to do a fair amount of biking, especially along the Loire River (Chateaux-a-Velo routes), stopping off at the famous chateaux, exploring small villages, etc.

Day 11: to fill in. Evening return to Paris
Day 12: morning departure.

Some questions:
- Would appreciate views on the itinerary
- Would you recommend other places either in addition or instead of what we are doing?
- How easy is it to get from Blois to Chinon
- Can we rent a car easily in Chinon and is a 1-way rental possible?

Second - I would look very carefully at these bike trips. Not sure what routes they use - but we have driven through this are fairly extensively and there is no way I would put kids on bikes on those roads. Way too narrow with very limited shoulders and IMHO not really safe for bikes.

Car rental - one-way are certainly possible - but you need to investigate what agencies might have offices there and where you would be able to drop off.

St Circ - Actually you didn't respond at all on the Loire. And I generally find that different people have different views. So while I appreciated your thoughts on Dordogne, I am still hoping for some suggestions from others.

vijay, I was a tour guide in the Loire for 10 years and I still find it one of the least scenic areas of France and one that I am not interested much in returning to, despite the fact that it has admirable fancy châteaux. Since then, I have made well more than 100 trips to France, have owned a home in the Dordogne for 20+ years, and have traveled extensively all over the country, with the possible exceptions (meaning I've only been there a few times) of Picardy and Burgundy.

As I said on TA, you are trying to bite off too much for a short trip, especially one that includes the Dordogne, which is likely to be by far the highlight of your trip. I would spend half \the trip in Paris and half in the Dordogne and forget the Loire at this point, but I am no fan at all of biking, so take that into consideration. If you decide you want to spend time in the Loire, save the Dordogne for when you have a minimum of a week and add days to Paris.

Consider that the weather might not be great when you are in the Loire. Sorry to say that, but we shared a B&B one night with two really soggy bikers who gave up but still had to bike back to the rental place next day in the rain.

If you can leave Paris by car you'll have more flexibility in getting to Blois to Chinon and then on to the Dordogne. If the weather is good, you can rent bikes, but if not, you'll be able to get around to the chateaux you want to see and Fontevraud.

There are a lot of quiet roads in this area that will probably be safe for biking, but you'll want to take a look at the actual routes Chateaux a Velo uses to see if you think they are safe for your family. It's nice rolling countryside, not too strenuous for biking.

If you are in Montsoreau, take a look at neighboring Candes St Martin, both of which are Plus Beaux Villages. There's a great panorama showing the Vienne joining the Loire (okay, you have to climb a hill above Candes St Martin).

There's a wonderful stretch of the Indre from about Monts to Sache where flowery bridges cross the Indre and the remains of old mills line the river.

Maybe you'll time it right to get to one of the weekly markets as you're passing through a town.

St Circ - i appreciate and respect your views. Lots of people love the Loire, so I guess it's a personal thing. We'll have to make a decision there. But I can see we need to do a lot more work on Dordogne and plan to spend more time there. So back to the drawing board there.

Coquelicot - thanks v much for your tips. A lot to consider from your post.

OK, we have re-worked things a lot. Decided to leave Paris quickly and spend 7 days in Dordogne; then come back via the Loire area and spend 2 days there. New draft itinerary below. Some specific questions:
1. Do you know a place we can rent bikes from that would deliver to Tremolat/Limeuil/Cadouin area for our Aug 15 plan?

2. Are there any hikes (of up to 10 miles) you would recommend in any of the areas below? I know there must be hundreds, but wondered if there are any particular favourites.
Would appreciate any thoughts on the itinerary below:

Day 1: arrive Paris lunchtime. Look around Paris for rest of day

Day 2: drive down to Simeyrols where we are renting an apartment for a week. Stop at various towns: Argenton-sur-Creuse, Hauteford, Terrasson, Saint-Amand-de-Coly. The drive looks like ~6 hours so we will take pretty much all day with enough time to stop and walk around the towns especially Hauteford which looks lovely.

Day 3: Vezere Valley.
- Lascaux Caves
- Abri du Cap Blanc followed by walk from Abri into Beune Valley to Chateau de Commarque.
- Depending on time drive down to Monpazier via St Cyprien

I answered you in detail on TA. I still think you have missed the mark, a bit.

I am firmly of the opinion that the Dordogne is not only way more attractive scenery-wise (and food-wise) than the Loire, but it has far more to offer in terms of history, sites, and attractions than the Loire. My teenagers were bored with the Loire (though for 3 days they were happy for sure, and I've loved the Loire and its atractions and been a tour guide there. Sure, lots of good stuff, but as far as comparisons go in most of the major travel categories, I'd have to say the Périgord wins hands down).

So the kings of France built luxury homes and hunting lodges in gated communities basically in the Loire..interesting historically and with many romantic sidebars, but in the Dordogne you've not only got the prehistory aspect, which is endlessly fascinating, but the Hundred Years War, the Résistance, and the glorious scenery and food.

Thanks St Circ. I see your point on Dordogne and Loire - that along with our own research is why we have now skewed the itinerary heavily to Dordogne (8 days vs. 2 days). However, we did think it was worth stopping off at the Loire because it is sort of on the way back to Paris (not entirely, but certainly not a big detour). And also we wanted to get at least a glimpse of a Loire Castle (we are choosing Azay-le-Rideau) as well as the Gardens of Villandry (which the house we are staying in there is very close to). So if you like Dordogne is 4x better than Loire as per our agenda